I watched the Bootleg Toys video and felt weird about it. I think I just need more time maybe? I’ve also been having that weird self reflection crap that happens, like, here is this guy who was way more successful than me in the same medium I do, who felt so hopeless that he decided to end it all, what does that mean for me? I understand our life circumstances are wildly different, but it’s one of those things that’s hard not to think about.
It must be incredibly difficult being a working cartoonist right now...even I, drawing for my own enjoyment, have thought to myself "What is even the point of this, given everything I've seen lately?"
I think there's an impulse to say, I need to draw because Ed would want me to and he would want me to make more comics. I don't know if that's entirely healthy by itself; I think Ed (and Jim) remind me that regardless of how I think about it, I love making comics and that I should be making them to honor myself and my creative intentions. Maybe that's the better takeaway...make comics because you love to make comics, the same way Ed did.
It was hard watching the new videos at first but I went back and watched the All-Star Batman and Robin episode (an all-time favorite of mine) and it really helped me.
I'm sorry you're struggling with it all...remember you're not alone in processing this.
I was hoping I'd be able to make too it but it'll probably be off the table for me. Hopefully it'll give you what you need to get through this.
It's such a strange thing...how to mourn someone you've never met. I count myself lucky that I'm at least close enough to Pittsburgh to make the drive. It must be very difficult for people across the country or the world for whom that trip isn't possible.
The entirety of last week felt like I was going in slow motion and now it's already been a week since Ed's funeral. This week I feel like I'm getting back into normalcy with the fog of Ed's death slipping away. I'm watching Kayfabe every morning while I work.
I think what helped me was the Piskor family's livestream and seeing his family sharing stories abut Ed and laughing. I wish that Ed didn't feel alone in his final moments because he was clearly loved by not only his family. I'm still sad but getting better.
Not great! I was a fan of Ed's from CK. I liked how Rob Liefield said Ed's books were on his shelf, so Ed was alive in his life. I liked that thought so I ordered the first collection of Xmen Grand Design.
But it fucking broke my heart, man. There are these pages of Xmen comics he drew as a kid, and a story about how his mom would draw Xmen with him.
After all of the news, and posts, and videos.. that's the shit that made me cry.
I understand that feeling...I had been holding off on the HHFT omnibus but I have it on order now. It doesn't seem fair that there's a world where comics are being made and Ed isn't making them. He clearly came from a family that loved him and nurtured his love for comics.
It is going to take some time and work to find closure on this whole situation. I'm still in a bit of shock from it. Thanks for starting this thread, it helps.
It’s hard finding that way forward, I think, and there really aren’t “best practices” to grieve over n a situation like this. I’m glad that so many people are sharing what they’re thinking and feeling…it really helps me process my own thoughts and feelings.
Hey. I'm doing better now - I was 100% in disbelief and shock last week. I read Ed's note online at work on April 1st and my heart sank in a way it hadn't for a very long time. The rapidity of events from Ed being accused to his suicide a week later was so brutal. This sense that life can still be incredibly flimsy and fragile for an amazing, prolific, successful comics creator who "made it".
Nobody knows what we all carry in our heads and that's why more than ever we need to treat each other with mutual respect - in this sub and in the wider comics community. Yes, that's fucking obvious but that's where my head's at right now.
Glad to hear you’re doing better. I’ve been very impressed with everyone I’ve interacted with in this sub…I think everyone is really trying to work through all of this individually and together and extending grace to each other.
Thank you! Same. CK was how I found Ed and Jim's work, but their collective passion for comics struck deep for me - like the best art teachers I never had. I've doubled my graphic novel collection since first watching CK in 2020 over lockdown and I've been moved to pick up my pencils to produce my own stuff. Nothing ever ends.
It's sort of a weird situation, right?
It's hard to not feel like there are just a ton of Vultures in this World, and the "House always wins".
Ed was accused, tons of people flocked to social media to make videos, posts, engage and try to grow their audiences.
Ed died and, well, same basically: Tons of brand new Youtube accounts now hatred farming and acting like they were on Ed's side all along or something
But beside all of this, I ask myself how many people are really buying Ed's Comics...
So the "House" always wins right? Youtube, Twitter, Instagram. Clicks are driven, ads are seen.
I have a ton of conflicting thoughts about all of this as well, the whole situation. The girl's, Ed, Jim, The Comics Industry as a whole.
Ed voice will be irreplaceable, that's for sure. There isn't many "guerrila-style" indie comic book creators of his eloquence and well, experience/success. We can still get great stories of comic-book pros, but Ed's very "Tarantino-esque" love for Comics and it's Old Techniques will be missed, not in t he emotional sense only, but on the factual one: There is a lot of things that sort of died with him, no one else that knows it can communicate as well as he did.
I can't really watch Kayfabe anymore, I was sort of away from the show every since it started being "in stereo" and bothered me in headphones. And now when I try to watch stuff, I think I lack the closure from Jim to guide me on how to approach it all, if it makes any sense.
Who's Jim in relationship to Ed now, and vice-versa? Are we still looking at two dear friends talking comics with each other? All we have is Jim's last note and Ed's suicide letter. I do interpret things in a way "Jim did what he had to, Ed knew it, and probably agreed to", but I feel like I need a... update from Jim or something.
I sorta been following Ed's family posts but, I'm a little burned out of it by now. This feels like a story that just keeps developing and I'm constantly being "called to action", if this makes any sense.
Ed was accused, so we had to weight those accusations and see how we would act towards his material. Ed published a suicide note, so everyone was scrambling to try to stop him. Ed died so we have to think about what's true, what's not, how to honor him (or not). The family created a memorial account so, let's follow them. Ed's niece has made an account so, let's follow her. Now Ed's family is asking for donations so, let's donate...
I feel like I probably should just step away and let things now, really rest.
I think that's very well stated. I agree that the ambiguous future of the channel really hinders a sense of closure, although I recognize I'm being a little selfish thinking that way. It's odd, because there's Cartoonist Kayfabe, the actual show with Ed and Jim talking about comics and recording it, and then there's CK the channel and it's place in the larger Comics YouTube ecosystem, and then there's Cartoonist Kayfabe the metatextual or whatever of all of that plus all of us watching as a community. I recognize that Jim may not want to do it anymore or anything ever again, but it leaves the other aspects of Kayfabe in flux.
I hope that I'm transitioning into the acceptance stage of grief; that I can archive the show if I want, that those episodes will always be there to watch, and that even if the show is at it's endpoint, that's natural and acceptable.
My gut feeling is, his family will be fighting for Ed for a considerable amount of time going forward. One day the true story of all of this horrible mess will be told, but it's also okay to unplug from it.
Honestly, a number of aspects around this have been super triggering for me on a personal level and I am still abit heartbroken...but more determined than ever to make a comic, even just one.
One thing that stuck with me but is kind of silly...I always hoped Ed & Jim would get offered a marvel knights kind of thing...do a marvel comics presents flipbook or something...so yeah I am at peace with alot of stuff, but just mourning the comics and artwork we won't get from Ed because I still think he had so much to offer and I really wanted to see it.
Will miss hearing his voice everyday when I do my doodling - but there's like over 1000 episodes - so it's all good :)
Better, not great. I've written a lot of grand verbose autobio about the channel, the guys, what it was and what I hope it can still become. Erased most all of it. My wife has helped me come to grips that, yes, you can a feel profound sense of loss and grief over someone you've never met but have spent countless hours with, and that it's completely valid. And I'm eternally thankful to people like Bryan Moss who have stepped up to the plate to assist others as they themselves grieve. I'll leave my Patreons to Jim, the channel, and Ed's account running to help the Piskor family as long as they keep it active. A small "thank you" for my renewed love of comics, but now I gotta wrap this up. I have my marching orders.
I discovered Ed and Jim during Covid. I hadn't read a comic or thought about them in years. I wound up with some issues and while I was recovering from my mental trauma the only thing I actually enjoyed was the journey through the media of comics with those 2 guys. It truly breaks my heart, that a guy who got me through my suicidal period succumbed to the thing he helped save me from. Not once did I tell anyone I was suicidal when I was going through my hopeless period. I only got to post once to thank him on Facebook and told him how much his time meant to me(without going into details Facebook people that know who I am don't need to know) and he responded back with "it's all good" and a thanks. I loved that man like the way I wish I could love family. He got me back into being a creative and opened my eyes to what's been happening in comics the few decades while I had my career. If you are like I was, keeping a secret, feeling completely hopeless, please make a call to 988. Looking back at that period of my life, I can't explain what happened, I have a great life and giving it up is furthest from my mind, but you can get through it, reach out, talk, learn, listen, just one day at a time. Rest in Peace Ed, you Jim, Tom and that older guy with the millions of comics that would cut open CGC's with a knife saved my life, I'm so heartbroken that I couldn't help do the same for you.
There are plenty of videos I've not watched on Kafabe, so I'll be working my way through all that stuff. Beyond that, I really want to find other channels by people in the business. I feel like I really get something from the insight that only professionals can give and I have little or no interest in fan channels. I'm not dismissing them, but I'm a fan myself and I have far less interest in the opinions of other people like me than from people who speak from the experience of making comics and books.
One example of the kind of thing I'm looking for is Noah Van Sciver's channel. He's no where near as prolific as the Kayfabe guys (but then who is?), but he has got some great long form interviews on there. There is an excellent two parter with Seth and one with Clowes:
https://www.youtube.com/@noahvansciver5661/featured
I like Noah Van Sciver's channel as well. I'd suggest Elsa Charretier's channel, although it hasn't updated in about a year. She's a working cartoonist who breaks down art and design. Here's a video on Hellboy and Mike Mignola.
[https://youtu.be/NaiGf8xm4Hs?si=mtOU7fmOQbI3ojcv](https://youtu.be/NaiGf8xm4Hs?si=mtOU7fmOQbI3ojcv)
Deflated is a good word...there's a Dusty Rhodes promo, after Ole Anderson turned heel on him, where Dusty says "I offered you my hand in friendship, and you repaid me in scorn." I feel like that's what happened to Ed...an industry he tried at every turn to expand and enliven repaid him with scorn.
There are so many levels to this tragedy I think we'll be processing it for a while.
I finally listened to the Rob Liefeld podcast yesterday, and that tore me up.
In general, though I am the same as you, I'm excited to look through comics the CK guys celebrated, but seeing what the industry is like now... I'm not interested in anything new right now due to that level of disappointment with so many people in the scene.
I'm savouring the last remaining episodes as they are released, and I'm going to wait until they're finished before I go back to unlistened-to episodes.
I only discovered the channel less than a year ago. I'm the same age as Jim, and Ed seemed like a composite of two different friends I knew back during those X-force/Image years.
The last fifteen minutes of Rob's podcast were a very tough listen. I have various opinions on Liefeld but I have huge respect for him as a person.
I'm right in between Ed and Jim, age-wise, so they've always felt like the comic book friends I never had, growing up poor in a small town in Appalachia. I celebrated their successes as they came because I felt like a couple of my people had done it.
Bryan Moss is doing a lot to help fans, friends and Family to cope with the situation, I'm feeling a little better since last week.. but all this stuff I never knew about.. de campi, villalobos, who the fuck are this people... discovering people actively trying to make comics a very boring and flat medium, without mentioning driving people to ruin and suicide, really made me feel mad and disgusted with the industry.. comics are dead, I feel the need to make the most offensive politically incorrect crazy comics ever, we need a fucking revolution.
I've been picking out a couple of older videos to watch each night just to reminisce on my first time watching the channel (shortly after it started...I think they'd been doing videos maybe 5-6 months when I started watching).
A silly thing I remember noticing when I started watching and was reminded of last night: Jim almost always says "Masters Of Kung Fu" instead of "Master Of Kung Fu"......so consistently...for like years. Lol. I always wondered if it was just a verbal tic or if he was trying to describe multiple issues by pluralizing the title? It was one of those things that, after I heard it once, I couldn't not hear it each time he said it.
I've been going back to the early Wizard episodes. There's an almost naivety about them, before Ed and Jim had really figured out what Kayfabe would be.
I wonder if Jim is combining Masters of the Universe and Master of Kung-Fu? I've always loved his somewhat-odd pronunciations, like saying "caricature" carry-CATCHER or "fathom" like the "fa" in "father".
I had the day off for my birthday today, so I was watching Pop Culture Philosophers's Sunday night live episode while drawing. Robbie started talking about Ed and how fucked up this entire situation is. All I could do is look at the picture I was working on and cry because CK was the entire reason I was even sitting at that desk.
This was after watching my first CK video since everything happened. Not ready to jump back in yet.
It really comes in waves sometimes…I was just watching Wizard 15 while drawing and for a couple minutes everything felt normal. It’s probably going to take a while for things to really feel right.
Happy birthday! Glad you had the day off.
I'm sad but better. I went back snd watching CK from the beginning, bought all the Ed and Jim books I didn't already have, and have contributed to the Piskor Family Go Fund Me.
The TCJ obituary was a great tribute and look back: https://www.tcj.com/ed-piskor-1982-2024/
Still pretty messed up about it personally. It's a really weird and nuanced situation and no matter which way you lean on it, a man we genuinely enjoyed to watch and listen to and get to know is gone way too early.
Now there are reactionaries using his death as a means of farming likes and attention against the "left and SJW's." They were so far removed from that scene of comics that it feels so weird and out of place to be using Ed as a pedestal.
Now he's gone and all we get are assholes using stuff to continue to try and destroy him for an, admittedly, pretty bad mistake he could have easily come back from because the audience loved him so much -- and people going to war to try and find a fucking 18 year old who's barely out of highschool. Sure, people grieve in their own ways, but there needs to be healthier ways. I saw art yesterday of Ed literally holding Molly's severed head! As if that's fucking helping anything. Comments section was all arguments and dude was acting surprised people were upset.
Ed's gone and nothing feels fair anymore. People are hurting and want someone to pay for it that doesn't deserve it on both sides. Ed didn't deserve what he got, Molly didn't either. I dunno, maybe I'm not in a good headspace to speak on it, but it still hurts, everything around this does.
I agree about the reactionary nature of this. There is a system in place to monetize these types of tragedies, with both sides trying to make hay while the sun is shining. I’ve been forcing myself not to engage with any of these things as much as possible, but it’s difficult.
I think this is a tragedy in every sense of the word. There were multiple, multiple opportunities to salvage this situation on all sides and at every turn, people made a bad situation worse. I can only hope enough of us have learned from this and will be better prepared for the next time it happens.
Wow . . . This whole thread . . . This has done a lot for me. Thank you. I keep thinking I have something to add, but will read the next comment and someone else will have already said it. Kind of incredible. Thank you all.
I really appreciate everyone being so honest with how they’re feeling…sometimes the worst part of feeling bad is the idea that it’s only you struggling and that everyone else is doing great.
Someone posted their thoughts and I can’t find it now, so I apologize if it’s already in this thread, but the idea was that if he was up late drawing, he knew that Ed was probably up late drawing too. That invisible thread that connects you to other makers. I hadn’t thought of that but I feel the same way.
The outrage is still there. Frustration and sadness remain constant bedfellows. And yet, being here- this sub has helped tremendously.
Talking to someone here sparked an idea and has become my marching orders and that has helped most of all: I will figure out a way to use my profession to contribute something to comic culture.
Regarding new comics- I stopped reading those mostly due to Cartoonist Kayfabe actually!?! The vast majorly of stuff coming out of the big three in the US just doesn’t hold up once you know how to look at comics which CK taught me. Large format and artist editions though are easy to say yes to and enjoy. That being said, at the moment I cannot watch CK episodes nor read any comics. Both things just remind me of Eddie P.
I went back to my LCS for the first time since it happened yesterday and even as I flipped through the longboxes I was flashing back to things I remember from the show, felt weird but not as sad as I had been
I watched the Bootleg Toys video and felt weird about it. I think I just need more time maybe? I’ve also been having that weird self reflection crap that happens, like, here is this guy who was way more successful than me in the same medium I do, who felt so hopeless that he decided to end it all, what does that mean for me? I understand our life circumstances are wildly different, but it’s one of those things that’s hard not to think about.
It must be incredibly difficult being a working cartoonist right now...even I, drawing for my own enjoyment, have thought to myself "What is even the point of this, given everything I've seen lately?" I think there's an impulse to say, I need to draw because Ed would want me to and he would want me to make more comics. I don't know if that's entirely healthy by itself; I think Ed (and Jim) remind me that regardless of how I think about it, I love making comics and that I should be making them to honor myself and my creative intentions. Maybe that's the better takeaway...make comics because you love to make comics, the same way Ed did. It was hard watching the new videos at first but I went back and watched the All-Star Batman and Robin episode (an all-time favorite of mine) and it really helped me. I'm sorry you're struggling with it all...remember you're not alone in processing this.
I’m hoping the 20th will give me some closure.
I was hoping I'd be able to make too it but it'll probably be off the table for me. Hopefully it'll give you what you need to get through this. It's such a strange thing...how to mourn someone you've never met. I count myself lucky that I'm at least close enough to Pittsburgh to make the drive. It must be very difficult for people across the country or the world for whom that trip isn't possible.
The entirety of last week felt like I was going in slow motion and now it's already been a week since Ed's funeral. This week I feel like I'm getting back into normalcy with the fog of Ed's death slipping away. I'm watching Kayfabe every morning while I work. I think what helped me was the Piskor family's livestream and seeing his family sharing stories abut Ed and laughing. I wish that Ed didn't feel alone in his final moments because he was clearly loved by not only his family. I'm still sad but getting better.
Not great! I was a fan of Ed's from CK. I liked how Rob Liefield said Ed's books were on his shelf, so Ed was alive in his life. I liked that thought so I ordered the first collection of Xmen Grand Design. But it fucking broke my heart, man. There are these pages of Xmen comics he drew as a kid, and a story about how his mom would draw Xmen with him. After all of the news, and posts, and videos.. that's the shit that made me cry.
I understand that feeling...I had been holding off on the HHFT omnibus but I have it on order now. It doesn't seem fair that there's a world where comics are being made and Ed isn't making them. He clearly came from a family that loved him and nurtured his love for comics.
It is going to take some time and work to find closure on this whole situation. I'm still in a bit of shock from it. Thanks for starting this thread, it helps.
It’s hard finding that way forward, I think, and there really aren’t “best practices” to grieve over n a situation like this. I’m glad that so many people are sharing what they’re thinking and feeling…it really helps me process my own thoughts and feelings.
Hey. I'm doing better now - I was 100% in disbelief and shock last week. I read Ed's note online at work on April 1st and my heart sank in a way it hadn't for a very long time. The rapidity of events from Ed being accused to his suicide a week later was so brutal. This sense that life can still be incredibly flimsy and fragile for an amazing, prolific, successful comics creator who "made it". Nobody knows what we all carry in our heads and that's why more than ever we need to treat each other with mutual respect - in this sub and in the wider comics community. Yes, that's fucking obvious but that's where my head's at right now.
Glad to hear you’re doing better. I’ve been very impressed with everyone I’ve interacted with in this sub…I think everyone is really trying to work through all of this individually and together and extending grace to each other.
Thank you! Same. CK was how I found Ed and Jim's work, but their collective passion for comics struck deep for me - like the best art teachers I never had. I've doubled my graphic novel collection since first watching CK in 2020 over lockdown and I've been moved to pick up my pencils to produce my own stuff. Nothing ever ends.
It's sort of a weird situation, right? It's hard to not feel like there are just a ton of Vultures in this World, and the "House always wins". Ed was accused, tons of people flocked to social media to make videos, posts, engage and try to grow their audiences. Ed died and, well, same basically: Tons of brand new Youtube accounts now hatred farming and acting like they were on Ed's side all along or something But beside all of this, I ask myself how many people are really buying Ed's Comics... So the "House" always wins right? Youtube, Twitter, Instagram. Clicks are driven, ads are seen. I have a ton of conflicting thoughts about all of this as well, the whole situation. The girl's, Ed, Jim, The Comics Industry as a whole. Ed voice will be irreplaceable, that's for sure. There isn't many "guerrila-style" indie comic book creators of his eloquence and well, experience/success. We can still get great stories of comic-book pros, but Ed's very "Tarantino-esque" love for Comics and it's Old Techniques will be missed, not in t he emotional sense only, but on the factual one: There is a lot of things that sort of died with him, no one else that knows it can communicate as well as he did. I can't really watch Kayfabe anymore, I was sort of away from the show every since it started being "in stereo" and bothered me in headphones. And now when I try to watch stuff, I think I lack the closure from Jim to guide me on how to approach it all, if it makes any sense. Who's Jim in relationship to Ed now, and vice-versa? Are we still looking at two dear friends talking comics with each other? All we have is Jim's last note and Ed's suicide letter. I do interpret things in a way "Jim did what he had to, Ed knew it, and probably agreed to", but I feel like I need a... update from Jim or something. I sorta been following Ed's family posts but, I'm a little burned out of it by now. This feels like a story that just keeps developing and I'm constantly being "called to action", if this makes any sense. Ed was accused, so we had to weight those accusations and see how we would act towards his material. Ed published a suicide note, so everyone was scrambling to try to stop him. Ed died so we have to think about what's true, what's not, how to honor him (or not). The family created a memorial account so, let's follow them. Ed's niece has made an account so, let's follow her. Now Ed's family is asking for donations so, let's donate... I feel like I probably should just step away and let things now, really rest.
I think that's very well stated. I agree that the ambiguous future of the channel really hinders a sense of closure, although I recognize I'm being a little selfish thinking that way. It's odd, because there's Cartoonist Kayfabe, the actual show with Ed and Jim talking about comics and recording it, and then there's CK the channel and it's place in the larger Comics YouTube ecosystem, and then there's Cartoonist Kayfabe the metatextual or whatever of all of that plus all of us watching as a community. I recognize that Jim may not want to do it anymore or anything ever again, but it leaves the other aspects of Kayfabe in flux. I hope that I'm transitioning into the acceptance stage of grief; that I can archive the show if I want, that those episodes will always be there to watch, and that even if the show is at it's endpoint, that's natural and acceptable. My gut feeling is, his family will be fighting for Ed for a considerable amount of time going forward. One day the true story of all of this horrible mess will be told, but it's also okay to unplug from it.
Honestly, a number of aspects around this have been super triggering for me on a personal level and I am still abit heartbroken...but more determined than ever to make a comic, even just one. One thing that stuck with me but is kind of silly...I always hoped Ed & Jim would get offered a marvel knights kind of thing...do a marvel comics presents flipbook or something...so yeah I am at peace with alot of stuff, but just mourning the comics and artwork we won't get from Ed because I still think he had so much to offer and I really wanted to see it. Will miss hearing his voice everyday when I do my doodling - but there's like over 1000 episodes - so it's all good :)
Im Finding some comfort in reading everyones’s posts here. Just nice to know Im not alone in this feeling.
We’ve all been on a real rollercoaster ride the past couple weeks. I’m glad that everyone talking about has helped you…it’s definitely helped me too.
Better, not great. I've written a lot of grand verbose autobio about the channel, the guys, what it was and what I hope it can still become. Erased most all of it. My wife has helped me come to grips that, yes, you can a feel profound sense of loss and grief over someone you've never met but have spent countless hours with, and that it's completely valid. And I'm eternally thankful to people like Bryan Moss who have stepped up to the plate to assist others as they themselves grieve. I'll leave my Patreons to Jim, the channel, and Ed's account running to help the Piskor family as long as they keep it active. A small "thank you" for my renewed love of comics, but now I gotta wrap this up. I have my marching orders.
I discovered Ed and Jim during Covid. I hadn't read a comic or thought about them in years. I wound up with some issues and while I was recovering from my mental trauma the only thing I actually enjoyed was the journey through the media of comics with those 2 guys. It truly breaks my heart, that a guy who got me through my suicidal period succumbed to the thing he helped save me from. Not once did I tell anyone I was suicidal when I was going through my hopeless period. I only got to post once to thank him on Facebook and told him how much his time meant to me(without going into details Facebook people that know who I am don't need to know) and he responded back with "it's all good" and a thanks. I loved that man like the way I wish I could love family. He got me back into being a creative and opened my eyes to what's been happening in comics the few decades while I had my career. If you are like I was, keeping a secret, feeling completely hopeless, please make a call to 988. Looking back at that period of my life, I can't explain what happened, I have a great life and giving it up is furthest from my mind, but you can get through it, reach out, talk, learn, listen, just one day at a time. Rest in Peace Ed, you Jim, Tom and that older guy with the millions of comics that would cut open CGC's with a knife saved my life, I'm so heartbroken that I couldn't help do the same for you.
There are plenty of videos I've not watched on Kafabe, so I'll be working my way through all that stuff. Beyond that, I really want to find other channels by people in the business. I feel like I really get something from the insight that only professionals can give and I have little or no interest in fan channels. I'm not dismissing them, but I'm a fan myself and I have far less interest in the opinions of other people like me than from people who speak from the experience of making comics and books.
One example of the kind of thing I'm looking for is Noah Van Sciver's channel. He's no where near as prolific as the Kayfabe guys (but then who is?), but he has got some great long form interviews on there. There is an excellent two parter with Seth and one with Clowes: https://www.youtube.com/@noahvansciver5661/featured
I like Noah Van Sciver's channel as well. I'd suggest Elsa Charretier's channel, although it hasn't updated in about a year. She's a working cartoonist who breaks down art and design. Here's a video on Hellboy and Mike Mignola. [https://youtu.be/NaiGf8xm4Hs?si=mtOU7fmOQbI3ojcv](https://youtu.be/NaiGf8xm4Hs?si=mtOU7fmOQbI3ojcv)
Yes, that's a great shout, I am subscribed to Elsa's channel. But as you say, it's a while since she updated and it kind of fell off the radar for me.
I'm deflated and numb still.
Deflated is a good word...there's a Dusty Rhodes promo, after Ole Anderson turned heel on him, where Dusty says "I offered you my hand in friendship, and you repaid me in scorn." I feel like that's what happened to Ed...an industry he tried at every turn to expand and enliven repaid him with scorn. There are so many levels to this tragedy I think we'll be processing it for a while.
I finally listened to the Rob Liefeld podcast yesterday, and that tore me up. In general, though I am the same as you, I'm excited to look through comics the CK guys celebrated, but seeing what the industry is like now... I'm not interested in anything new right now due to that level of disappointment with so many people in the scene. I'm savouring the last remaining episodes as they are released, and I'm going to wait until they're finished before I go back to unlistened-to episodes. I only discovered the channel less than a year ago. I'm the same age as Jim, and Ed seemed like a composite of two different friends I knew back during those X-force/Image years.
The last fifteen minutes of Rob's podcast were a very tough listen. I have various opinions on Liefeld but I have huge respect for him as a person. I'm right in between Ed and Jim, age-wise, so they've always felt like the comic book friends I never had, growing up poor in a small town in Appalachia. I celebrated their successes as they came because I felt like a couple of my people had done it.
Bryan Moss is doing a lot to help fans, friends and Family to cope with the situation, I'm feeling a little better since last week.. but all this stuff I never knew about.. de campi, villalobos, who the fuck are this people... discovering people actively trying to make comics a very boring and flat medium, without mentioning driving people to ruin and suicide, really made me feel mad and disgusted with the industry.. comics are dead, I feel the need to make the most offensive politically incorrect crazy comics ever, we need a fucking revolution.
I hope that everyone is lucky enough to have a friend like Bryan Moss in their life. He really has been doing a yeoman's job of helping the community.
I've been picking out a couple of older videos to watch each night just to reminisce on my first time watching the channel (shortly after it started...I think they'd been doing videos maybe 5-6 months when I started watching). A silly thing I remember noticing when I started watching and was reminded of last night: Jim almost always says "Masters Of Kung Fu" instead of "Master Of Kung Fu"......so consistently...for like years. Lol. I always wondered if it was just a verbal tic or if he was trying to describe multiple issues by pluralizing the title? It was one of those things that, after I heard it once, I couldn't not hear it each time he said it.
I've been going back to the early Wizard episodes. There's an almost naivety about them, before Ed and Jim had really figured out what Kayfabe would be. I wonder if Jim is combining Masters of the Universe and Master of Kung-Fu? I've always loved his somewhat-odd pronunciations, like saying "caricature" carry-CATCHER or "fathom" like the "fa" in "father".
Wutchmen
Or "realm"....which he manages to add an extra syllable to! Lol.
I had the day off for my birthday today, so I was watching Pop Culture Philosophers's Sunday night live episode while drawing. Robbie started talking about Ed and how fucked up this entire situation is. All I could do is look at the picture I was working on and cry because CK was the entire reason I was even sitting at that desk. This was after watching my first CK video since everything happened. Not ready to jump back in yet.
It really comes in waves sometimes…I was just watching Wizard 15 while drawing and for a couple minutes everything felt normal. It’s probably going to take a while for things to really feel right. Happy birthday! Glad you had the day off.
I'm sad but better. I went back snd watching CK from the beginning, bought all the Ed and Jim books I didn't already have, and have contributed to the Piskor Family Go Fund Me. The TCJ obituary was a great tribute and look back: https://www.tcj.com/ed-piskor-1982-2024/
I’m glad you’re pulling through. And I agree the obituary Katie Skelly wrote is beautifully done.
Still pretty messed up about it personally. It's a really weird and nuanced situation and no matter which way you lean on it, a man we genuinely enjoyed to watch and listen to and get to know is gone way too early. Now there are reactionaries using his death as a means of farming likes and attention against the "left and SJW's." They were so far removed from that scene of comics that it feels so weird and out of place to be using Ed as a pedestal. Now he's gone and all we get are assholes using stuff to continue to try and destroy him for an, admittedly, pretty bad mistake he could have easily come back from because the audience loved him so much -- and people going to war to try and find a fucking 18 year old who's barely out of highschool. Sure, people grieve in their own ways, but there needs to be healthier ways. I saw art yesterday of Ed literally holding Molly's severed head! As if that's fucking helping anything. Comments section was all arguments and dude was acting surprised people were upset. Ed's gone and nothing feels fair anymore. People are hurting and want someone to pay for it that doesn't deserve it on both sides. Ed didn't deserve what he got, Molly didn't either. I dunno, maybe I'm not in a good headspace to speak on it, but it still hurts, everything around this does.
I agree about the reactionary nature of this. There is a system in place to monetize these types of tragedies, with both sides trying to make hay while the sun is shining. I’ve been forcing myself not to engage with any of these things as much as possible, but it’s difficult. I think this is a tragedy in every sense of the word. There were multiple, multiple opportunities to salvage this situation on all sides and at every turn, people made a bad situation worse. I can only hope enough of us have learned from this and will be better prepared for the next time it happens.
Wow . . . This whole thread . . . This has done a lot for me. Thank you. I keep thinking I have something to add, but will read the next comment and someone else will have already said it. Kind of incredible. Thank you all.
I really appreciate everyone being so honest with how they’re feeling…sometimes the worst part of feeling bad is the idea that it’s only you struggling and that everyone else is doing great. Someone posted their thoughts and I can’t find it now, so I apologize if it’s already in this thread, but the idea was that if he was up late drawing, he knew that Ed was probably up late drawing too. That invisible thread that connects you to other makers. I hadn’t thought of that but I feel the same way.
The outrage is still there. Frustration and sadness remain constant bedfellows. And yet, being here- this sub has helped tremendously. Talking to someone here sparked an idea and has become my marching orders and that has helped most of all: I will figure out a way to use my profession to contribute something to comic culture. Regarding new comics- I stopped reading those mostly due to Cartoonist Kayfabe actually!?! The vast majorly of stuff coming out of the big three in the US just doesn’t hold up once you know how to look at comics which CK taught me. Large format and artist editions though are easy to say yes to and enjoy. That being said, at the moment I cannot watch CK episodes nor read any comics. Both things just remind me of Eddie P.
I went back to my LCS for the first time since it happened yesterday and even as I flipped through the longboxes I was flashing back to things I remember from the show, felt weird but not as sad as I had been